Emerge from Your Cave and See God’s World Around You
Sacred rhythms and rites fill much of Parashat Emor.
Sacred Leadership
This past winter saw the release of a movie version of the Exodus story, directed by Ridley Scott. I will leave it to film critics and biblical scholars to debate the merits and deficiencies of the production.
Outside the Camp: A Modern Midrash
This midrash, or haggadic story, takes place amid the Israelites' wandering in the desert. We read in B'haalot'cha :
When they were in Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married:"He married a Cushite woman!"
This Light’s for You
"The Holy One spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to Aaron and say to him, "When you cause the lights on the menorah to ascend . . . "'" (Numbers 8:1-2).
To Everything There Is a Season: Turn, Turn, Turn to Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) this Sukkot
One of the privileges and responsibilities that I have as a congregational professional is serving on the faculty of the Union for Reform Judaism's summer camps.
A Different Type of Sukkah
I hate camping. The thought of sleeping on the hard ground among the bugs makes my skin crawl.
What a House Is
The home-repair season is drawing to a close in my part of the country, and I still have not fixed my roof. That omission weighs on me. I want to protect my household and my house; I think each of us does. So we build our roofs and our walls and try to live safely. But Rav Kook is right: That is not enough. Destruction can still come, whether by flood or by poverty or by airplane. Sukkot reminds us of the vulnerability with which we live.
Chol HaMo-eid Sukkot: A Tabernacle of Torah for Everyone
It was a quiet Jerusalem day at the Wall, one of those brutally hot June afternoons with the sun beating down on the sandy hues of Jerusalem stone. The day seemed familiar yet something was different.